3. A relevant outline for preparing an environmental impact statement concerning that
same technology.
4. An improved understanding of environmental systems.
5. Knowledge required to permit more effective
efforts to prevent environmental degradation.
6. A means through research to accommodate
man's activities to environmental constraints.
Packaging Research
to Meet Each Viewpoint
,
The overall system can be segmented in
various ways to make complete scientific packages that answer a wide range of objectives,
depending on the type of decision-maker involved. We may package scientific work
along functional research lines; for example, a
complete package for water-quality research.
We may package scientificwork along engineering lines; for example, a complete package for
residential developments. We may package
From their own viewpoints of the system,
scientific work along service lines; for example, decision-makers can define the research ina complete package for water-supply and formation input they need. Then, by referring
waste-disposal policies.
to the environmental-effect viewpoint of the
Traditionally, our research has been organiz- system, these same decision-makers can
ed into discrete scientific fields or disciplines evaluate a research proposal or suggest what
that can be pigeonholed according to parts of kind of research is needed in terms of their
the system flow outlined in the environmental- own immediate requirements.
effect viewpoint. The objective of such reThus we can generate and reinforce the inforsearch has been to dig deeply within a narrow mation required to comprehensively attack a
field of study. The environmental-effect view- given problem when that problem is subjected
point stresses this objective. I t suggests re- to all three viewpoints in this way:
search possibilities within a narrow segment
of the total system and enables us to:
I
1. Evaluate a research study proposal in the
context of the total needs within a specific
functional or scientificarea.
2. Develop a research program in a functional
area that will provide input information to
the social-needs and supply-response
systems.
By bringing the social-need and supply-response viewpoints to bear on a given environmental problem, we can evaluate that problem
from the position of the decision-maker who is
responsible for providing associated social needs
or technological developments. Faced with a
contemplated development project or program,
for example, decision-makers themselves can
begin to evaluate resulting environmental
effects by looking a t the system from their own
point of view. Such examinations can provide:
1. An appraisal of the technology involved.
2. An outline of the research required to measure the primary and secondary effect of such
technology on natural ecosystems.
PROBLEM DEFINED IN
GENERAL TERMS
I
ENVIRONMENTAL-EFFECT
VIEWPOINT
//
I
ASSESSMENT
PROBLEM
SUPPLY-RESPONSE
VIEWPOINT
\\
-
SOCIAL-NEED
VIEWPOINT
CONCISE DEFINITION OF THE
PROBLEM, HOW IT MAY BE
RELATED TO OTHER PROBLEMS, AND A COMPREHENSIVE OUTLINE OF THE SCOPE
OF RESEARCH NEEDED FOR
PROBLEM SOLUTION.
However, in the final analysis of any given
problem, the effects of the social and supply
innovations will be determined not by the extent to which man can manipulate the external
world but by the limitations of the ecosystem
(or environmental-effect viewpoint). The
ecosystem constraints set the sideboards for
the ultimate solution to any given problem.
Only in this way will the research approach
provide answers that insure the proper functioning of natural ecosystem required for man's
ultimate survival i n and around Megalopolis.
Who, What, Where, When,
Why, and How3
The six questions (who? what? where? when?
why? and how?) about research are often difficult to answer explicitly. This system, however packaged, should make answering them
easier. The environmental-effects and services
components taken together broadly answer the
question what. The development and locale
segments taken together broaclly answer where.
Answers to these two questions go a long way
toward determing how to conduct the research,
although much of the how sometimes must (and
should) be left to the researcher's ingenuity.
Use of the system to indicate relevant combinations shows why the work is important. We
already know the scientist is going to do the
work, and the research administrator says
when.
A DIAGRAM OF THE ENTIRE SVSTEM
PINCHOT INSTITUTE
*
v
*
OF ENVIRONMENTAL FORESTRY RESEARCH
-..RONMENTAL
AIR QUALITY
*WATER
EF~LI
m-
IS THE SOCIAL WELL
BEING OF A MAN I N MEGALOPOLIS
BEING ENHANCE0 WITHOUT DESTROYING
NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS REWIRED FOR
HIS ENJOYMENT AND SURVIVAL
r
ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS
lANGE OR MAINTAIN SPECIES
C~MWSITION
OF VEGETATION
y
*ALTER OR PRESERVE DWSITY OF VEGETATION
*REARRANGE OR HOLD CONSTANT SPACIAL
PATT ERNS OF VEGETATION
*IMPROVE OR MAINTAIN PRODUCTIVITY--.AREA
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
A n Environmental-Effect
Approach
Use of the packages will be illustrated by
example, and in this example our primary package will be formulated from the environmentaleffect viewpoint. We begin by assuming that a
specific research proposal is made to a research
administrator, and we trace the administrator's
evaluation of the proposal with reference to
the complete catalogue of studies in the general
area of interest for a specific environmental
effect. (The example is kept very simple here
simply to illustrate the procedure.)
A scientist proposes studying vegetation
manipulation in housing developments in
areas
that the
hzs
research can be used where residents can
enjoy certain songbirds and wild animals
in suburbia. (Songbirds, incidentally, are
also an extremely important factor in nutural ecosystems related to man" health
and wellbeing.)
Wildlife habitat (flora-fauna) is the central
issue here, so we go first to the environmentaleffect viewpoint figures, select figure 23 (flora
and fauna), and code the research proposal
as 6-10-4-2:
Enuironmental
Effect
Service
Development
Locale
(flora-fama) (recreation (residences) (suburban)
activity)
To place the research proposal in perspective,
we chart alI other flora and fauna effects in
figure 23 that are relevant to suburbia (locale
2). We examine the interconnected parts of
figure 23 that are relevant to the environmental
effect stipulated in the proposed study. Those
parts of that system are:
ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS
The number in each circle follows the num- 1. It is in a high-priority package category.
bering code for effects, services, developments, 2. It is part of a group of 17 relevant packages
and locales found in table 1. An asterisk along
or study areas-of which 14 are high-priority
the bottom line of numbers indicates a highpackages.
priority package. The original proposal in the 3. Seven suburban services are involved in the
flow chart is indicated by a heavy line. All other
total subsystem-services 2,4,5,6, 7,9, and
possibilities are shown by light lines.
10 (table 1).
By evaluating the research proposal in this 4. Five developments in suburbs are involved
way, we begin to see how it relates to a complete
in the total subsystem-developments 1, 4,
research program for flora and fauna effects in a
5,6,and 7 (table 1).
suburban setting. By inspection, conclusions
For evaluation of a study proposal by a
can be reached on several important points regarding how the study is related to overall research administrator-and depending upon
the ability, qualifications, and experience of the
Pinchot Institute objectives:
scientist-one of several recommendations is
likely:
The proposal is accepted and funded.
The proposal is expanded to include other
services, such as 4,6, and 9 as well as 10.
The proposal is included in a larger study
designed to encompass all 17 relevant study
areas.
Recommendation 3 is tantamount to a program-development charge; the research ad&nistrator has made a program-development
analysis from the flow chart and indicates what
to include and where to do it. The first step in
program evaluation is taken.
Next, a senior scientist should make an analysis of the problems within the program to
determine what information is already known
and what needs further research.
A Soclal-Need Approach
Now consider a research problem from the
social-need response viewpoint. For example, a
research question from this perspective could
be:
In the course of legislating housing needs
(service 4 ) for suburban areas (locale 2 ) ,
what environmental effects will we encounter that may be ameliorated or protected through policies and programs governing vegetation management? What
form of environmental forestry research is
needed to develop relevant information
for developing policy to regulate housing?
The package code a t this point has only two
numbers, one for services and one for locales :
Services
Effects
Developments
(housing)
Locales
(suburban)
The missing parts of the package must be
supplied to develop a research program. I n
figure 3, social need number 4 (housing) is
selected and traced through the paths (or
subsystem) where the two codes (4 and 2)
exist. Those parts of that system are:
SERVICE
ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS
DEVELOPMENT
LOCALES
The number in each circle follows the number
system for services effects, developments, and
locales found in table 1. An asterisk along the
bottom line of numbers indicates a high-priority
package.
Therefore, by filling in the missing code numbers so that all the relations can be traced,
development of the program proposal for
housing in suburbia has begun. Now we can recognize what environmental factors are relevant
in this context and what developments they
are related to :
1. Research capability in all six environmental
categories in this program must be developed.
2. Only three developmental-viewpoint situations are likely to be encountered:
a. Residence (4) under three environmental
effects areas.
b. Transportation (5) under four environmental effects areas.
c. Forestry (7) under six environmental
effects areas.
3. About one-third of the indicated study areas
are high priority.
Thus, as in the previous example, the problem
dimensions are defined and the relative complexity is determined-clear avenues to problem
seIections and analysis. The research adrninistrator interested in addressing the enhanced
problem package has a point of beginning for
determining the expertise and funding needed.
A Supply-Response Approach
In a traditional sense, the importance one
should attach to evduating a given problem in
the above manner depends upon the responsibilities of the one making the appraisal. A
suburban real-estate developer, using the previous example, has an outline on which to base
an environmental impact statement, or on
which to make an engineering evaluation of
technical alternatives.
However, the developer-using the supplyresponse viewpoint-may ask the research question somewhat differently:
I n the course of building suburban resi-
dences (locale 2, development 4), what
effectswill such development have on nutural systems of the environment thut can
be enhanced, protected, or avoided
through manipulation of vegetative composition, density, patterns, or productivity?
Here the package code is:
Developments
(residences)
Effects
4
?
Services
Lode8
(suburban)
?
2
The missing parts of the package can be
supplied by referring to figure 12 (residences)
and tracing through the paths (or subsystem)
where the two codes (4 and 2) exist. Those
parts of the system are:
DEVELOPMENT
EMVlRONMENTAL
EFFECTS
The number in each circle follows the number
system for services, effects, developments and
locales found in table 1. An asterisk along the
bottom line of numbers indicates a high-priority
package.
We conclude from this flow that:
Capabilities in all six environmental categories are required.
under two environmental effects.
b. Housing (4) under three environmental
effects.
c. Transportation (5) under one environmental effect.
d. Recreational structures (6) under three
environmental effects.
e. Health and welfare (9) ,under four environmental effects.
f. Recreational activity (10) under three
environmental effects.
Six social services are also interrelated with
3. Three-quartem of the indicated study areas
residences :
have high priority.
a. Water supply and waste disposal (1)
the suburban developer and the policy-maker
understand their roles in the total research
A research administrator, wing the previous picture.
Decision-makers from all three viewpoints
example of how the system works, has an outline to help him evaluate a research proposal or now have broader based views, and they should
to develop a research program. The research be able t o communicate their needs and proadministrator also sees that the wildlife-habitat lems with one another much more quickly and
research program described in the example surely.
Thus the reinforcing feedback loop of inforabout an environmental-effect viewpoint could
constitute work in 20 to 25 percent of the sub- mation mentioned earlier for all three viewurban planner's environmental problems that points becomes readily apparent in the total
are amenable to vegetation management. Both system.
Advanaage of Uslng A l l
Three Vlewpolnts
RESEARCH PLANS TO ENHANCE
THE SVSTEM
Recognized Weaknesses
The Pinchot Institute recognizes a t least
nine aspects of this first-generation system for
exploratory research and problem evaluation
that need improvement:
1. Components in table 1 need to be revised
and expanded where necessary.
2. Problems suggested by individual packages
and groups of packages need to be defined
explicitly.
3. Where answers to parts of problems already
exist, results should be published in concise,
compact form for use by decision-makers.
I n this same regard, a continuous literature
review is required to update and publish
supplements to the initial reports.
4. Dependent and independent variables in
each problem, or associated problems, need
to be clarified.
5. Parallel and interconnecting Links among
and within the major components of the
system need to be explored in preliminary
pilot research studies.
6. Preliminary research studies are needed to
adequately assess the need for concentrated
research a t given points or interconnecting
sections of the system.
7. With the exception of a somewhat gross
attempt to set priorities, a weighting procedure needs to be developed within the total
system for allocating limited research funds
and manpower.
8. As the system becomes more complex, retrieval computer procedures will need to be
developed that will allow a given management problem to be defined from d three
viewpoints and to print out either the
location within the Consortium where the
expertise p i s t s to solve the problem or the
references in the literature where the total
or partial solution to the problem can be
found.
9. As information about the total Pinchot In-
stitute system becomes available, multidisciplinary teams need to model the research-allocation system for a variety of
environmental problems. Such an approach
should eventually provide an optimum combination of packages that could be f.unded
according to an expected payoff matrix of
results.
MultIdIsclpllnary
Team Approach
Multidisciplinary research teams have been
established within the Pinchot Institute's Consortium of universities and inhouse research
units to attack the nine basic weaknesses
mentioned above. With the capability to .utilize
the expertise of many disciplines that exist
throughout its nine leading institutions, the
Institute's Consortium can create almost any
type of multidisciplinary team that may be
required to solve environmental forestry problems throughout Megalopolis. The Consortium
has the physical plant capabilties to comprehensively and quickly engage in research to
answer the ecological-oriented problems of
metropolitan planners and developers.
Starting with a given viewpoint, each team
examines groups of research packages within
variaus park of the total system. Examples of
elements to be considered by teams using each
viewpoint have been listed previously in the
descriptions of those three viewpoints. When
a team is satisfied that it has considered most
of the important dependent and independent
variables of interest, the framework for writing
a problem analysis and for developing individual research studies becomes fairly straightforward.